The Peng Tongwei 彭通微

Peng Tongwei (1307–1394) was a native of Ruyang in Henan during the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties. His original given name was Hongda, and his Taoist literary name was Suyun.

According to Records of Songjiang Prefecture, when Peng Tongwei was twelve years old, he studied under Liu Yueyuan and became a Taoist priest. In the fourth year of the Quanzheng era (1341)*, he began to study under Real Person Zhang of Taihe at Wudang Mountain. He resided at Zixiao Palace, where he performed routine labor and service for a total of three years; eventually, Real Person Zhang imparted to him the essential teachings of the methods for refining qi (vital energy) and nurturing the spirit. Later, Peng Tongwei wandered through famous mountains such as Zhongnan, Qingcheng, Wuyi, and Tianmu. In the fourteenth year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1381), he finally arrived at Xilin Mountain and built a thatched hut to live in.

When Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty (Zhu Yuanzhang) sought out virtuous and accomplished figures across the realm, local officials recommended Peng Tongwei to the imperial court. In the eighth lunar month of the twenty-seventh year of the Hongwu era (1394), Peng Tongwei passed away without illness at the age of eighty-eight. He was posthumously given the Taoist honorific title "Mingzhenzi" (True Person of Brightness).